Open AccessMonitoring the thin film formation during sputter deposition of vanadium carbide
Author(s) -
Kaufholz Marthe,
Krause Bärbel,
Kotapati Sunil,
Köhl Martin,
Mantilla Miguel F.,
Stüber Michael,
Ulrich Sven,
Schneider Reinhard,
Gerthsen Dagmar,
Baumbach Tilo
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of synchrotron radiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.172
H-Index - 99
ISSN - 1600-5775
DOI - 10.1107/s1600577514024412
Subject(s) - vanadium carbide , materials science , thin film , crystallite , coating , microstructure , sputter deposition , vanadium , carbide , deposition (geology) , cavity magnetron , layer (electronics) , sputtering , composite material , optics , analytical chemistry (journal) , metallurgy , nanotechnology , chemistry , paleontology , physics , chromatography , sediment , biology
The thin film formation of magnetron sputtered polycrystalline coatings was monitored by in situ X‐ray reflectivity measurements. The measured intensity was analyzed using the Parratt algorithm for time‐dependent thin film systems. Guidelines for the on‐line interpretation of the data were developed. For thick coatings, the experimental resolution needs to be included in the data evaluation in order to avoid misinterpretations. Based on a simple layer model, the time‐dependent mean electron density, roughness and growth velocity were extracted from the data. As an example, the method was applied to the hard coating material vanadium carbide. Both instantaneous and slowly varying changes of the coating could be detected. It was shown that the growth velocity is proportional to the DC power. Significant changes of the microstructure induced by the working gas pressure are mainly driven by the chemical composition.